On-demand rental of electric vehicles

Abstract

An indication that a ride associated with an electric vehicle has ended is received. An availability state of the electric vehicle is determined based at least on a current battery charge level of the electric vehicle and a dynamic charge threshold. Information reflecting the availability state of the electric vehicle in a set of geographic location and availability state information of vehicles comprising a fleet of electric vehicles available to be displayed is included via a user interface based at least in part on the respective availability state of the respective electric vehicles comprising the fleet of electric vehicles.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a communication interface; and   a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to:
 receive via the communication interface from a mobile device a first indication to ride a specific electric vehicle; 
 initiate a timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle; 
 receive via the communication interface a second indication that indirectly indicates a ride associated with the specific electric vehicle has ended, wherein the second indication indicates that the specific electric vehicle has not moved for a prescribed amount of time; and 
 based in part on receiving the second indication, stop the timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile device provides the first indication responsive to scanning a code associated with the specific electric vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to prompt a user associated with the specific electric vehicle to take a photo of the user associated with the specific vehicle wearing safety equipment. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to verify that the user associated with the specific electric vehicle is wearing the safety equipment based on the photo. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the processor implements machine learning to verify that the user associated with the specific electric vehicle is wearing the safety equipment. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second indication indicates that the mobile device has moved more than a threshold distance away from the specific electric vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in response to receiving the first indication, the processor is configured to change a state of the specific electric vehicle from a free state to an in-use state. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein in the free state, the specific electric vehicle is included in a user interface displaying electric vehicles available for rental. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein in the in-use state, the specific electric vehicle is removed from a user interface displaying electric vehicles available for rental. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in response to stopping the timer, the processor is configured to change a state of the specific electric vehicle from an in-use state to a free state. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the state of the specific electric vehicle changes from the in-use state to the free state in response to a determination that a battery level associated with the specific electric vehicle is greater than or equal to a battery charge threshold. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in response to stopping the timer, the processor is configured to change a state of the specific electric vehicle from an in-use state to an unavailable state. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the state of the specific electric vehicle changes from the in-use state to the unavailable state in response to a determination that a battery level associated with the specific electric vehicle is less than a battery charge threshold. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide to the mobile device a prompt requesting a confirmation that the ride has ended. 
     
     
         15 . A method, comprising:
 receiving via a communication interface from a mobile device a first indication to ride a specific electric vehicle;   initiating a timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle;   receiving via the communication interface a second indication that indirectly indicates a ride associated with the specific electric vehicle has ended, wherein the second indication indicates that the specific electric vehicle has not moved for a prescribed amount of time; and   based in part on receiving the second indication, stopping the timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the second indication indicates that the mobile device has moved more than a threshold distance away from the specific electric vehicle. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein in response to receiving the first indication, the method further comprises changing a state of the specific electric vehicle from a free state to an in-use state. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein in response to stopping the timer, the method further comprises changing a state of the specific electric vehicle from an in-use state to a free state. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , where in response to stopping the timer, the method further comprises changing a state of the specific electric vehicle from an in-use state to an unavailable state. 
     
     
         20 . A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising computer instructions for:
 receiving via a communication interface from a mobile device a first indication to ride a specific electric vehicle;   initiating a timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle;   receiving via the communication interface a second indication that indirectly indicates a ride associated with the specific electric vehicle has ended, wherein the second indication indicates that the specific electric vehicle has not moved for a prescribed amount of time; and   based in part on receiving the second indication, stopping the timer for the ride associated with the specific electric vehicle.